The 15-year-old attacker of a knife attack at a Sydney church had shown no signs of radicalization before the attack, according to his father.
The father expressed shock and sadness at the incident, stating that his son “was a good kid” who “never caused any trouble”.
The 15-year-old is in custody following he attacked an Assyrian bishop and other worshipers during a church service in Sydney on Monday (15.04.2024).
The bishop as well as several other people who were in the church have been injured and remain in the hospital, although their lives are not in danger. The young perpetrator was arrested and is being treated at the same hospital, where he will remain for a few more days.
The attack on Monday night, which injured Bishop Mar Marin Emmanuel of the Assyrian Church of Christ the Good Shepherd, is being treated by New South Wales police as a “terrorist” act motivated by religious extremism.
The secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Union, Gamel Heir, told Reuters that the 16-year-old’s father had not noticed any signs of radicalization in his son.
“He said that other than the reaction to him (…) there was no sign of radicalization,” said Hare, who was with the attacker’s father when he left his home to seek refuge in a local mosque on Monday.
Police said the attacker’s family had temporarily moved out of their western Sydney home amid fears of reprisals.
The attack has raised concerns regarding persecution of the Assyrian community – mainly Christians from the Middle East – some of whom have been forced to flee their country because of their religion. About 40% of Assyrians in Australia live in the suburb of Wakeley around the church where the incident took place.
“That’s awesome. The Assyrian community came from Iraq because of the persecution they suffered because they are Christians,” said Maria, whose family immigrated to Australia from Iraq in 1993. But the Muslim community is also on alert.
The Lebanese Muslim League said the Lakeba mosque in Sydney’s south-west, one of Australia’s largest, received threats of a Molotov cocktail attack on Monday night. “We have placed two guards to protect the mosque,” said Hare.
“Terrorist attack”
In the meantime, Australian police today explained the reasons why they described Monday’s attack as “terrorist”.
New South Wales Police Superintendent Karen Webb said she made the designation hours following the attack, based on state law.
A 2002 law provides that terrorism is considered an act committed once morest someone with a political, religious or ideological motive and the aim of terrorizing the public.
“I made that characterization without hesitation,” Webb said, speaking to ABC television, but said she understood the questions raised by representatives of religious communities. The designation “terrorist” does not mean that the teenager will be accused of terrorism, she clarified.
However, Hare estimated that the police may have “rushed” to characterize the attack as terrorist. “Why are we in such a hurry to talk regarding terrorism when something is regarding religion,” he asked.
Monday’s service was broadcast live on the internet, so the attack was watched by worshipers who were online. Immediately following the attack, clashes broke out outside the church between the police and an angry crowd demanding the handover of the attacker.
According to newsit, Webb explained today that it is possible that the police will start arresting those responsible for these riots today, following they complete their identification from the videos that recorded the incidents.
The 53-year-old Bishop Emmanuel, who is particularly popular among young people on TikTok, has been the target of much criticism and hate online as his sermons rail once morest homosexuality, covid vaccination, Islam, the election of US President Joe Biden.
The incident was the second stabbing attack in three days in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, following six people were killed at a shopping center near Bodai Beach on Saturday.
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